Secretary-General, at Fragility Assessment Workshop, Acknowledges Civil Society,

Political Parties for Roles in Peacebuilding, State-Building

 

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the Fragility Assessment Workshop in Dili today, 15 August:

I am delighted to be with you on this significant day for Timor-Leste.  For the first time, you, as a member of the g7+ group of fragile and conflict-affected States, are meeting to assess your own fragility and progress.  Sierra Leone has completed a similar self-assessment.  This is an exciting period for the g7+.

Before I proceed, allow me to say how much I look forward to working with Minister [Emilia] Pires on my High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.  I appointed Minister Pires because of her outstanding contributions to peace and development.  As Chair of the g7+ and Co-Chair of the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding, Minister Pires has been consistently eloquent, forceful and honest.

The appointment is also in recognition of the remarkable achievements of the Government of Timor-Leste and of the Timorese people as a whole.  Under your committed leadership, Mr. Prime Minister, the people of Timor-Leste have worked hard for sustainable peace and development in the decade since independence.

Timor-Leste’s leadership of the g7+ is emblematic of this young country’s advanced and growing engagement in the world.  I particularly acknowledge the important role of the vibrant Timorese civil society and the political parties in the peacebuilding and state-building process.  I commend their participation today.  It is critical for this assessment.

The Fragility Assessment is a key component of the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, presented last year at the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan.  I recently convened a Paris committee meeting of the United Nations and we discussed this matter there — how all departments and agencies of the United Nations can help with this process.

The New Deal is a significant and welcome contribution to a more equitable and productive partnership between fragile States and their development partners.  The New Deal identifies five peacebuilding and state-building goals as a foundation for accelerated development in resilient and capable States.  The goals reaffirm the widespread understanding that there can be no peace without development, no development without peace, and there can be neither without human rights and justice.  These three pillars are all interconnected.

The New Deal can represent the watershed.  Whether it will be depends on the commitment of countries emerging from conflict and their development partners.  For donors, this means providing more predictable, accountable and flexible aid through reliable country systems.  For recipients, it means working for greater transparency, reduced corruption and more inclusive politics.

At the core of the New Deal is mutual accountability.  I strongly urge the g7+ to keep pressure on your partners, bilaterally and at international forums, including the United Nations and the International Dialogue.  The United Nations Development Group has endorsed the New Deal, and I pledge that the United Nations will play its part.

Let me outline four ways that we will do so.

First, the United Nations will strongly support the follow-up to and implementation of the New Deal at global and country levels.  Second, senior United Nations officials will advocate for allocation of resources to implement the New Deal and seek opportunities to remind donors of their commitment.  The United Nations will lead the way by seeking occasions where the Peacebuilding Fund can assist.

Third, we will continue to assist in the development of indicators to better progress towards the peacebuilding and state-building goals.  Fourth, the United Nations will be sure to reflect the specific challenges of conflict-affected countries in the post-2015 development framework.

The United Nations will remain your steadfast partner.  I hope you will also very closely coordinate with Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), who is here with us.  She is responsible for all these Asia-Pacific areas.

I wish you a productive workshop.

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For information media • not an official record